


Libby & Lucas

by FuseboxMusebox



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Humor, I accidentally made this softer than planned, Lucas is a business student, Rivalry, Swearing, academic rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29308344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuseboxMusebox/pseuds/FuseboxMusebox
Summary: Lucas was a pain. But Libby wasn't much better. Throughout their years at Cambridge, all they seemed to do was butt heads. But what happens when that starts to change?Or:Five times Lucas Koh pissed off Libby Shaw. And one time he didn't.
Relationships: Lucas Koh/Main Character (Love Island)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 31





	Libby & Lucas

**Author's Note:**

> _For the monthly prompt competition from r/LITGFanFiction on Reddit._

_ First Semester, First Year. _

\--

Libby was fairly sure she was screwed. She was also fairly sure she was running around in circles because  _ this university was ridiculous. _ Why were there so many classrooms? Why were there so many corridors? And why the  _ hell _ did they all look the same? She was going to be late. First class on the first day and she was  _ going  _ to be late. Libby was never late. She prided herself on that. Everything she did was immaculate and she always put 110% effort into everything she did and  _ always  _ made it to places on time. This could not be happening. 

And yet it was happening. She was seemingly walking down the same corridor she did five minutes ago and the longer she did this, the more distressed she became. She was so distressed, in fact, that she wasn’t really paying much attention when she turned the corner and was suddenly slammed into a wall. 

Well, what felt like a wall actually turned out to be a person. 

“Oof.” Libby grunted as she rebounded off the figure in front of her. Her petite frame immediately lost its balance and she landed in a heap on the floor, losing her books along the way. 

“Oh for the love of-” The guy in front of her had stumbled back from where they collided and was clearly annoyed about it. “Watch where you’re going.” He snapped. 

Libby was immediately riled up. She shifted from her spot on the floor and started to gather up the books that she’d dropped. That this stranger  _ made _ her drop. “Why don’t  _ you _ watch where  _ you’re _ going?” 

She finally managed to stand up and was suddenly struck by how tall this guy was. Libby was short. Five foot two to be exact and the man in front of her was at least six foot, if she was judging his stature correctly. Oh well. It was a good job she was stubborn because there was no way she was letting this tall, dark-haired egomaniac stop her from getting to her damn lecture on time. 

“You were clearly not looking where you were going.” He argued back. “Is this hallway not big enough for you?” 

Libby narrowed her eyes. “Are you kidding?”

“No, actually my name’s Lucas.” 

“I didn’t ask and that was an awful joke. Are you seriously telling me that disaster was my fault?” 

“Yes. Because it was.” 

“Okay, Your Majesty. I really don’t have time for this but I’ll be sure to try and stay out of your way. Might make it a little bit difficult with the size of your ego but I’ll do my best.” 

With that said, Libby shoved past him as hard as she could and continued on to try and find her lecture. Left standing in the corridor, Lucas stared after her for a moment with a thoughtful frown on his face. 

**********

_ Third Semester, First Year _

_ \-- _

It was him. Of course it was him. Out of everyone in the entire year at Cambridge,  _ why _ did it have to be him? 

He’d been a giant pain in the arse all year. After she bumped into him on the first day, she quickly discovered that, not only was this narcissistic prick in her year, but also on her course. It was unbelievable. She’d been late, of course. Unable to find the lecture theatre until ten minutes after the Intro to Business Analytics had already started, Libby was absolutely mortified. Not just because she was late. Or because fifty or so students and the stern looking lecturer turned to stare at her. It was mostly because there, on the second row, the bellend that she had just met was staring right at her, with a shit-eating smirk on his face. It was in that moment that Libby decided that was it. She was going to do whatever she could to come out at the top of the class in order to wipe the smug look away. 

So the two of them began a rivalry. It went on all year and it would probably go on for the rest of the years to come. Truth be told, Libby and Lucas annoyed everybody. Lecturers, classmates, other people in their year. But no one more than each other. The word got around pretty quickly and everyone seemed to know they hated each other. But that just added fuel to the fire. The competition was never-ending and the entirety of the year was spent trying to succeed and making sure the other didn’t. But now, Libby was upset. And  _ pissed off _ . 

“Don’t you think you’re being a little bit dramatic?” Her fellow coursemate, Hope asked as they were making their way off campus after a particularly disastrous lecture. 

Libby stopped dead in the middle of the street, causing a few passersby to shoot her dirty looks as they walked around them. “Seriously?!” 

“What?” 

“Who’s side are you on?” 

Hope sighed and placed a comforting hand on Libby’s arm. 

“You know I’m always in your corner, babe. But I am also friends with Lucas and I don’t think he really did anything wrong, here.” 

Libby retracted her arm from Hope’s hand. “Unbelievable. You are  _ absolutely _ on his side!”

“Listen to me very carefully, Lib.” Hope said, putting her hands on either side of her friend’s face, forcing her to look at her. “You. Are. Being. Ridiculous.” 

“How?!”

Hope dropped her hands and looked at Libby with an almost pitiful expression. “You know, for someone who hates him so much, you do talk about him a lot.” 

The defensive and outraged expression on her face dropped in shock as she gaped at Hope like a fish. “What the hell are you implying?”

“Oh, I think you know.”

“No. Absolutely not. No.” Libby started shaking her head so fast that Hope was concerned it would fall off her shoulders but rather than showing that worry, she couldn’t help but snicker. 

“Denial, much.” She muttered with a smirk. 

“Nope. I am not doing this with you. Not today. Not ever.” Libby readjusted her bag that was on her shoulder and turned away from her friend to continue walking down the street. Hope followed after her with a chuckle. 

“I just think it’s funny that the only thing you’ve gone on about all year, since the day I met you was how much you hate this guy but you still put so much work into this weird rivalry.” 

Libby sighed. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that people don’t spend that much time and effort on someone they hate. They just don’t.” 

She fell quiet for a moment, thinking over Hope’s words in her head.  _ You still put so much work into this weird rivalry. _ But that was the point, wasn’t it? She  _ had _ put so much work into it. But it certainly wasn’t because she  _ liked  _ him. Lucas Koh, to Libby Shaw, was one of the worst people to grace this planet. He was egotistical. And self-centred. And narcissistic. And any other variation of those words. Libby was furious with Lucas  _ because  _ she put so much effort in. She vowed on that first day to do better than him no matter what it took. But all of her efforts seemed completely meaningless now. She felt miserable because it was all for nothing. Because  _ Lucas  _ had made it to the top of the class at the end of their first year. Not her.

Annoyance flaring up inside of her once more, Libby turned to look at Hope as they walked through the historic city. “No.” She said. “I definitely hate him.” 

**********

_ First Semester, Second Year _

\-- 

At the start of second year, it was safe to say that Libby’s feelings towards Lucas had certainly not changed. 

In fact, with her professional experience of dealing with Lucas Koh, she had to say that she was almost certain he'd gotten worse over the summer. The summer had been a nice break from his bullshit but now they were back at uni and once again in close proximity to one another. 

It was one of those things she couldn't even avoid before classes started. Libby and Lucas' friends had all unfortunately become friends with each other, which posed a problem for the two of them, as they were now forced to hang out at the local student bar. For the most part she'd avoided conversation with him but people had been filtering out and leaving. And now Libby was dangerously close to flipping her shit, and Hope wouldn't let her leave. 

“It's fine, just stay a little while longer.” She muttered to her, under her breath. 

“Are you joking?” Libby whispered back. “This is so awkward.”

“It's only awkward if you make it awkward.” 

The sound of Lucas clearing his throat from where he was sat opposite them, pulled Libby and Hope from their heated discussion. Both of them simultaneously turned to face the other occupants at the table, Hope with a genuine smile and Libby with a very false one. Lucas raised an eyebrow at her and he was very convinced that if she threw an actual dagger at him, it would have less of an impact. Libby thought the opposite. If anything, she  _ wanted _ to throw a dagger at him.

The air around everyone grew thick as the two of them proceeded to glare at each other. If Libby didn’t know any better, she’d say she caught a glimpse of amusement flashing behind Lucas’ deep brown eyes but there wasn’t much time to think about it. Her attention was drawn away from him and her eyes flickered to the girl sitting at Lucas’ side. She was looking between Lucas and Libby with a frown on her face and for the life of her, Libby couldn’t understand why. 

The girl,  _ Blake? _ (she wasn’t sure but she didn’t particularly care), was Lucas’ girlfriend and Libby was certain she was only with him because he had money. She tilted her head in confusion at Blake as she narrowed her eyes at her. Before Libby could ask what the hell her problem was, Hope interfered, sensing the tension and desperately wanting to break it. She knew that Libby was pretty stubborn and couldn’t even fathom the kind of argument that would break out between her and Blake, if she let it. 

“So, anyway.” Hope said, almost too loudly. “Good summer, you guys?” She addressed Blake and Lucas. 

Blake leaned forward, resting her arms on the table and her eyes kept flickering to Libby as she spoke. “Well, I actually spent some time with Lucas’ family in Oxford, they were kind enough to let me stay for a while. Isn’t that right?” She placed a hand on Lucas’ arm, smiling sweetly and batting her eyelashes. Libby couldn’t help but look down at her drink, smirking slightly as Lucas barely glanced in his girlfriend’s direction. The sickly sweet attitude was too much for her to deal with and she almost snorted.

Hope subtly kicked her leg under the table which only succeeded in making her laugh. She glanced up and Lucas was giving her an odd, questioning look. Trying to make it look like she wasn’t amused at Blake, but rather the situation as a whole, Libby shook her head. 

“Of course you’re from Oxford.” 

Lucas frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Posh, rich place isn’t it?”

Lucas opened his mouth to speak but Blake leaned in even closer. “Yes, Lucas’ family are very well-off. Do you have a problem with that?” 

Libby breathed a laugh. “No. The problem I have is that he’s from Oxford, and he decided it would be a nice idea to taint us with his presence at Cambridge, instead.”

There was a hidden challenge in Libby’s voice and boy, did Lucas notice it. This was always how their exchanges started. One of them would make a snide comment and the other would take it as a challenge to fight back. They would probably go back and forth forever if other people didn’t step in and stop either of them from having the final word. 

“Well, you know how it is. I may have grown up in Oxford but as long as you study Business at a decent school, it doesn’t really matter. Have to keep the legacy going, you know?” There was something in Lucas’ tone that Libby noticed almost seemed like bitterness. She almost felt bad for making the digs she was making, especially if Lucas wasn’t as close to his family as Blake seemed to think he was. For a brief moment she had to remind herself that it didn’t matter and that she didn’t care. She didn’t even know why she was thinking about it. 

“Oh I see.” Libby said, a hint of intrigue in her voice. “Don’t tell me your parents paid your way in here?” 

Lucas snorted at the accusation. “Because that’s the only way you believe I’d be here, right? Doesn’t matter that I seem to do better than you in every assignment, you still think I didn’t get here on my own merit.” 

Libby leaned back in her chair and considered him for a moment. This was the most calm discussion they’d had and he still succeeded in riling her up.  _ God, he was so annoying. _

“Well it’s possible that daddy’s money could pay to get you to the top of the class as well.” 

Lucas shook his head and his lips twitched into a smile. Libby blinked in surprise and suddenly had to repress the thought that  _ shit he had a nice smile. _ She’d seen it before but it was rarely directed at her. He was either glaring or smirking. There was no in between. That’s just how it was for the two of them. So why was he smiling like he found her funny?

It was Lucas’ turn to lean forward at the table towards her, and she found herself leaning with him as they met in the middle with identical challenging looks. 

“Why don’t you just admit that I’m smarter than you and we can put this entire thing behind us?” There was the smirk that she was used to. 

The smirk that made her blood boil. “Because you’re not smarter than me. You don’t even put any effort in, so you don’t actually deserve to be top of the class.” 

“You’re the only person that seems to disagree. Maybe  _ you  _ should put more effort in and then you might get somewhere.” 

Lucas hit a nerve. He knew it, too. There was something in his eyes that glistened as he saw the anger contorting her features. Libby wasn’t even surprised that he’d said it. By this point, he knew exactly what to say to push her buttons but she continuously let him get under her skin. She couldn’t help it. As someone who worked as hard as she did, she couldn’t control getting upset when her work ethic was questioned. 

“You don’t know the amount of effort I put in, so don’t even go there.” Libby snapped. 

“I’m just being honest. If you want to  _ be  _ better then  _ do  _ better. It’s how the world works.”

“Oh my god, okay.” She muttered. Sliding her chair out and grabbing her bag, she turned to Hope. “I can’t stay here. You coming?” 

“I-” Hope hesitated as she looked between the three companions. Blake looked really annoyed, Lucas was clearly smug and Libby was waiting expectantly for an answer.

Eventually she sighed and stood up. “See you guys on Monday for the lecture.” 

“Can’t wait.” Lucas said, looking at Libby even though it was Hope that had spoken.

A look of understanding passed between them, as they both reached the conclusion that the rivalry wasn’t going to end this year. It was round two. 

**********

_ Third Semester, Second Year  _

\--

“I believe that's everything we need, Miss Shaw. Do you have any other other questions for us?” 

“No, I think everything has been covered. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.” 

Standing up from the desk, Libby shook hands with the interviewer and he moved to open the door. “We still have a few more interviewees but we’ll be in touch by the end of the week.” 

The students were coming up to the summer of their second year and they'd been recommended to partake in a summer internship. It was a way for them to gain some industry experience before their final year. Libby was feeling fairly confident after her interview. She didn't want to get her hopes up too high but she had a feeling she was going to be okay. Walking out of the office, she felt a wave of calm wash over her and she almost smiled. It was a good day and for the first time in a while things were looking up. 

Until she stepped onto the street and nearly bumped into a figure waiting outside. 

“Shit, sorry.” She said as she just managed to dodge them. 

“So you  _ are _ capable of apologising for bumping into someone.” Libby looked up at the annoyingly familiar voice and her sense of confidence turned into a sense of dread. 

“Oh. You.” She said, hostility evident in her tone. Because it was Lucas Koh that was standing outside of the building she’d just come out of. The building where she’d had her internship interview.  _ Oh for fucks sake. _

“Yes, me. Lovely to see you too.” Lucas flashed her a smile. 

Something in Libby’s stomach flipped and she chalked it up to the fact that Lucas was probably here for the same reason she was and she was not happy about it.

There was a cautious tone to her voice when she spoke next. “What are you doing here?”

“You’ve not figured it out? Damn, Shaw, you’re getting slow.” 

_ This could not be happening. _ “I swear to god, if you’re here for the internship I’m going to scream.” 

“Let’s say hypothetically, if that were the case, would you maybe consider not doing that? We don’t want to alert anyone.” Lucas commented dryly. 

Libby stared at him in disbelief. He really was everywhere. It wasn’t enough that they were constantly fighting each other for the top grades but now her work experience was going to suffer as well?  _ Un. Fucking. Believable. _

“Why?”

Lucas frowned. “Why what?” 

“Why here? Out of everywhere, why do you have to go for the same internship at the same company as me? Are you that desperate to ruin my life?” 

Lucas stared at her for a moment, blinked, and then he burst out laughing. Libby was furious. She couldn’t believe he was openly trying to sabotage her chances at a decent career and he was laughing about it. She silently waited for him to finish with pursed lips and a death glare. 

“Oh my God.” Lucas said, wiping his eyes. “As if you actually think I’m deliberately doing this.” 

Libby hesitated for a second. “You’re not?”

The look Lucas shot her was a mixture of shock and sympathy. “Of course not. This is the best programme, so of course I applied for it.” 

“Right.” 

“Not everything I do is about you, you know.” Something in Libby stung when he said that.

“Yeah, I know.” She muttered. 

Lucas looked at her expression for a moment, and he couldn’t distinguish the look on her face. He could tell she was annoyed and upset, but it wasn’t his fault. He was feeling a little defensive but, at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a little bad. Rivalry aside, he wasn’t a bad person. He knew how hard she worked and how badly she wanted to succeed. He knew that because he was exactly the same way. He shouldn’t have to apologise for that, but there was something in her expression that had his chest constricting a little bit. 

“I’m sorry.” He said.

Libby’s head snapped up and she stared at him for a moment. “What?”

Lucas snorted. “I said I’m sorry.” 

“Yeah that’s what I thought you said but I’m a little bit confused as to why.”

“Look, it’s not exactly a secret that we don’t get along, but I’m not deliberately trying to sabotage you.” 

Libby thought it was a little bit weird that he knew that’s where her train of thought had gone, but it was even weirder that he was apologising for it. “Then why are you apologising if it’s not your fault?”

“I’m not a monster, Libby. I still feel a little bit bad.” 

Oh he almost had her. That was a close call. “Or,” Libby started with a new found annoyance, “you’re just trying to lead me into a false sense of security with this fake apology.” 

Exasperation flashed up on Lucas’ features and he rolled his eyes so hard, Libby thought they’d get stuck in the back of his head. “Oh, wow. Okay. I see how it is.”

“What?”

“You’re so skeptical of everyone and you really think everyone is out to get you.”

“Well you’ve not exactly ever given me a reason to trust you, Lucas.” She raised her voice a little before she could stop herself. She knew getting emotional would do her no favours but there wasn’t much she could do in the way of controlling it. 

“I’ve never  _ not  _ given you a reason to trust me either.” 

“That literally makes zero sense!” 

“No, of course it doesn’t. You only hear what you want to hear and you only understand what you want to understand.” Lucas was fed up now and he glanced down at his watch, realising it was nearly time for his interview. “I have to go.” 

“Yeah, sure.” Libby grumbled. “I mean you could just work at your dad’s business over the summer but that’s fine. If you want to take this away from me as well then go ahead.” 

Libby didn’t know what the hell was wrong with her, but she could feel herself getting choked up and she hated herself for it. Something in Lucas softened because he noticed it as well. Irritation was quickly replaced with concern as he took a tentative step towards her.

“Libby-” 

“It’s fine.” She shrugged. “Go in. I’ll see you around.” 

Turning away from him, Libby took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She didn’t deal well when things didn’t go her way and whenever Lucas Koh was around, she found it more and more difficult to keep her head on straight. This was new, though. She got angry, sure, but this level of upset was certainly new to her and she didn’t understand it. It was almost irrational and for someone like Libby, who liked to always be in control, it was terrifying. She hoped everything worked out in her favour because she wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take. 

**********

_ Second Semester, Third Year _

\--

As it so happened, Libby  _ did _ manage to get the summer internship. The relief she felt when she got the phone call a few days after the interview was colossal, but alongside that relief, she felt a level of smugness knowing that Lucas was unsuccessful. 

With that said, there was something that had shifted between Libby and Lucas in their third year, and Libby wasn’t sure what it was. All she knew was that they tolerated each other a lot more. They’d chalked it up to the stress and seriousness of the final year. More focus went onto the work than each other. Hope, however, disagreed and proposed a theory that made Libby break into hysterics. A theory that suggested the two of them had become friends. Which was ridiculous. Wasn’t it? She wasn’t sure, when she thought about it. At the end of the day, they still danced around each other. Still bickered to high heaven but there was  _ something  _ that was different. Less malicious. A little more playful. A part of Libby missed how things used to be but at the same time, she enjoyed the more lighthearted aspects of their interactions and even found herself smiling a lot more. Libby didn’t even complain too much when the two of them had been partnered up to work on a project together after Christmas. 

“Hold on, I think I found it.” Lucas murmured, staring intently at one of the many books in front of the two of them. They managed to find a table in the corner of the library and had been sitting there all day trying to plan for a presentation. Libby would never admit it out loud but the comfortable silence they fell into while working was nice. They actually made a really good team when they weren't yelling at each other. Or rather when  _ she _ wasn't yelling at  _ him _ . 

Lucas slid the book across the table to her and Libby nodded as she read the page, typing the quote out with the reference information. 

Libby stretched in her chair when she was done and stifled a yawn. “I think that's all the research we need.”

He looked her over for a moment, just now registering she looked as exhausted as he felt. Third year was officially kicking their arses. “Do you want to take a break?” 

Lucas had never seen Libby move so fast. Before he'd even got to the end of his sentence, she was shoving her laptop and books in her bag like her life depended on it. “Coffee. Now. Let's go.”

Standing up with her, a faint chuckle to his voice, he agreed. “Alright then.” 

Fifteen minutes later found them both sitting in one of the on-campus coffee shops, latte’s in hand, talking about their personal lives of all things. It wasn’t something either of them had ever really discussed with each other, in fact, Libby and Lucas didn’t really know each other very well at all. Talking about this kind of stuff had never mattered to either of them before, at least, that was what they told themselves. They’d put a lot of focus on deliberately pissing each other off, they’d never even tried to get to know the person behind the weird rivalry they had. 

Libby Shaw was learning a lot about Lucas Koh and she didn’t want to admit to anyone, least of all herself, that maybe she kind of liked him?  _ Oh, that was a scary thought. _

“So, rich boy, you’re from Oxford then?” Libby asked, casually sipping her drink. 

Lucas nodded doing the same. “Born and raised. You already knew that though.”

“True but I did kind of tease you about it.”

“Do you take back what you said?”

Libby considered the man in front of her. She pursed her lips as she looked at him thoughtfully. After a moment she answered. “Not even a little bit.” 

Surprisingly, Lucas laughed and she found herself admiring the way his face lit up and his brown eyes held a certain twinkle of mischief. “Yeah, I should have seen that coming.” 

“Serious question though, why Cambridge?” She asked, genuinely intrigued as to why he chose this top university to the one that was closer to home. 

Lucas hesitated for a moment, almost as if he was worried about discussing this with her. “Why? Are you looking for more stuff to put in your arsenal?” 

Libby shot him a look. “I’m not that bad, you know.” 

He responded quietly. Almost too quietly that she nearly didn’t hear it. “Yeah, I know.” 

She frowned at him, trying to understand what he meant, when he continued on from before. “It’s just one of those weird things. My parents did actually want me to go to Oxford and stay close by to help my dad with the business but I said no.” 

“How come?” 

Lucas turned pensive and Libby felt bad for him. Before she could stop herself, she leant forward, concern evident on her face. Lucas gave her a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It’s just a lot of pressure. It’s the same with a lot of people here. We all have our futures mapped out for us. We did before we were even born. Go to school, get good grades, get into a top university, get a good career but preferably one that will keep the family name at the top. My parents decided that my career would be one day running my father’s company.” 

Suddenly everything made sense to Libby. The bitterness he held before when it came to her bitchy suggestions his parents paid for everything. The reason why he applied for a summer internship in the city. Lucas was right, though. There were a lot of people at the university that were only there because of their strict upbringing. Libby couldn’t really relate. She just wanted to do well so that  _ she  _ was doing well. She didn’t come from a wealthy background and didn’t have the pressure. But she’d always been in two minds about the whole thing. 

On the one hand, people like Lucas had things handed to them and it seemed like they never really had to work for it. But on the other hand, she knew that if people like Lucas didn’t do well, there’d be serious repercussions. Not to mention the strained relationships this created within the family. Libby was close to both of her parents and her sister. She couldn’t imagine  _ not  _ being. The thought of that level of isolation and loneliness made her feel sad. 

“I’m sorry.” Libby said quietly. 

“Don’t be. It is what it is and most of us have learnt to live with it.” He responded with a shrug. 

If anything, that made her feel worse but if she let him know that, then it would potentially ruin whatever weird moment of understanding they were having. Not that she wanted to understand Lucas, because she didn’t. They were just two people taking a break from working on a project, and partaking in a conversation. A civil conversation. Perhaps the only civil conversation they had ever had.  _ Okay, this was definitely weird. _

Suddenly, Libby felt a vibration through the table and Lucas reached for his phone to check the message that he’d just received. There was a slight frown on his face that only seemed to grow deeper the more he read. 

“You okay?” 

Lucas blinked and shook his head to clear the foggy confusion. “Um. Yeah. Listen, I’m going to have to go but I’ll meet you here tomorrow and we can finish the presentation?” 

She frowned at him, trying not to let herself get too annoyed, especially if he had a good reason for ditching. “Yeah, is everything alright?”

“It’s fine.” He hesitated for a second. “Blake just seems to be upset about something. I’m going to go and see what’s wrong.” 

_ Oh.  _ Right. Blake. His girlfriend. Libby didn’t know how she managed to forget that he had a girlfriend but she did. And she also felt the familiar sensation of annoyance but this time it was at the fact that he was currently leaving their work session. For her.

“Oh. Right. Okay.” She said. 

Lucas stopped and looked at her like he was trying to deduce something. “Is that alright?” He asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Yeah, sure. Why wouldn’t it be?” 

“Because you seem annoyed.” 

“Nope.” 

He gave her an incredulous look that was laced with confusion. “Right.”

“Well, you clearly have more important things to do so I won’t keep you.” 

If Lucas looked as though he was getting annoyed, himself, it’s because he definitely was. “You seriously are annoyed right now, aren’t you? Why?” 

Now  _ that  _ was a good question. Why  _ was  _ she annoyed with him? The official reason, the one she was telling herself, was that it was to do with the assignment. They had work to do and they’d planned to get the majority of it finished so they could focus on everything else. But there was something in Libby. Something she was desperately trying to ignore, and had been for a while, that made her feel like that wasn’t entirely it. And the longer she stared at Lucas, the more nervous she became while thinking about it. 

“It doesn’t matter.” She said. “Just go.” 

Lucas was once again looking at her in concern which was only making the whole thing worse. “Okay but I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

Libby threw him a smile that was almost sad. “Sure.” 

As Lucas left the campus coffee shop, Libby frowned to herself and almost groaned in frustration. This was starting to get complicated and nobody had time for complicated right now. 

**********

_ Third Semester, Third Year _

\--

Libby was in the library when Lucas found her. She thought she was fine. She thought that being tucked away in the low-lit corner meant that nobody would disturb her and that she could just get on with what she was doing. Which, at the current time was sitting with her head in her hands, trying to control the tears that didn’t seem to want to stop. 

She was having a rough time. But at this point in the year, everyone was feeling the same. Overwhelmed. Stressed. Like they were drowning in a sea of exam preparation. Libby had finally cracked. Credit to her, she’d managed to keep it together for so long but it’d been building up for ages and all it took for her to lose it was not being able to find the book that she was looking for. Someone else already had it checked out and not having what she needed was enough for her to slump down at the nearest table and burst into tears. Once she started, she couldn’t stop but she was far enough away from prying eyes that she didn’t think anyone would bump into her. Least of all her arch nemesis-turned-acquaintance. 

“Libby?” A voice said softly from behind her. 

She lifted her head and rolled her eyes when she saw who it was. Of all the people to see her in this state it just had to be him, didn’t it? “Of course you’re here right now.” 

Without making a comment, Lucas grabbed a chair and sat down beside her. He couldn’t stop himself from doing it. There was something about seeing her so upset that made his chest feel heavy and the only thing he wanted to do was help her. Because the way Lucas felt about Libby was something he’d never felt about anyone. Not even his now ex-girlfriend, Blake.

“What do you want?” She asked, exhaustion clear in her tone.

“Nothing, I just…” Libby looked at him, waiting for him to continue. “Are you alright?”

Libby shot him a dry look, wiping her eyes. “You do realise how much of a stupid question that is, right?” 

Lucas snorted slightly despite the situation. “Well obviously you’re not, but I’ll rephrase the question. What’s wrong?” 

As she looked at Lucas, he couldn’t help but look at her sympathetically as he took in her appearance. Red-rimmed glossy eyes with unfallen tears still clinging to her lashes. Blotchy face, messy hair. He had so many mixed thoughts about her. Libby, on the other hand, found herself confused by his concern for what felt like the millionth time. Why was he even bothering with her? The only thing she ever did was get unnecessarily annoyed and take all her issues out on him. 

Libby looked at her hands in her lap. “Why do you care? I thought you hated me?” 

“No.”

_ What?  _ Suddenly her head shot up as she stared at him in disbelief. “Come again?”

Lucas chuckled a little at her surprise. It wasn’t an entirely unfounded assumption but really, he had always been convinced it was the other way around. “I never hated you. You annoy the living shit out of me but, no. I don’t hate you. I never did.” 

“Oh.” Well now she just felt bad for all the times she came at him with her trademark bitterness. He annoyed the hell out of her too and, once upon a time, she did say she hated him. Because she was convinced that she did. But as she sat beside him now, looking at the genuine care on his face, she realised that, no. She never really hated him either. They had a rivalry, but she was beginning to see that’s all it was. Something in Libby cracked again at the thought and the lump in her throat that had been fighting to win for the last few days appeared again, and she couldn’t hold it back. Her eyes once again welled up with tears and she turned her face away from him, trying to play it off like it wasn’t happening.

“Hey,” He whispered softly. He reached over and gently brushed her hair away from her face. That was another surprise. Gentleness was never a term Libby thought she would use to describe Lucas Koh. “Look at me.” 

She turned her face towards him and Lucas decided that in that moment, he never wanted to see that look of despair on her face again. “Tell me what’s wrong.” 

“I don’t know,” she muttered, “everything’s just piling up, I guess.” 

“Like what?” He didn’t want to push her too far but he also knew that if she didn’t let it out and talk about it with someone, she’d sit there in tears for the rest of the day. 

She knew it, too. Which was why, as soon as she opened her mouth, everything came pouring out. Libby told him about how awful she was feeling. How overwhelmed this place was making her. How she was scared because this was the final semester and she had absolutely no idea where she was going when they reached graduation. She told him about the millions of things she had to do even though he already knew because he also had to do them. She told him she was worried. Worried about not passing the upcoming exams despite how hard she’d been working. And she even told him about the damn book that she wanted but couldn’t find that led her to where she was now. 

And Lucas listened. He listened to all of the rambling and ranting and he could hear the desperation and panic in her tone. He didn’t judge her for any of it. He just sat beside her and rested his arm on the back of her chair, gently rubbing his thumb just below her neck. The action was simultaneously comforting and distracting to Libby. She didn’t know what possessed him to do it but she was also thankful that he did. It calmed her down and put her focus onto something entirely different. Like wondering why the heck he was doing it. 

When she’d finished her rant, Lucas reached for the base of Libby’s chair and pulled it round so she was facing him. “Feeling better?” He asked, sounding almost amused. 

Libby breathed out a small laugh but then her smile faded again. She just didn’t have the energy after all of that. “Pathetic right?” 

Lucas shook his head. “No. You’re not pathetic but you are tremendously wrong.” 

“I’m sorry?” 

“Libby, let’s be honest. Out of everyone in this godforsaken place,  _ you  _ are not going to be one to fail.”

To say that Libby was shocked to hear this from him was a serious understatement. Sure, he’d just spent the past fifteen minutes or so comforting her while she completely lost it but it was  _ this  _ that was messing her up. 

“Come again?” She repeated her words from earlier. 

“Oh, come on.” 

“What?”

“Everyone knows how hard you work, Lib. There’s not a chance in hell you’re going to fail anything.” 

“Yeah that’s easy for you to say. You pass everything with flying colours while I’m stuck behind you wondering what I did wrong.” She wasn’t trying to be bitter but she really couldn’t help it. Something about Lucas always getting there first bothered her. 

“Beside.” Lucas said softly. 

Libby frowned. “What?” 

With a shrug of his shoulders, he gave her a small smile and her breath almost hitched looking at him. “I like to think you’ve been fighting alongside me the whole time.” 

_ Oh shit.  _ Libby was in so much trouble. Because the longer she looked at him and the longer she listened to what he was saying, she realised that he was right. While Libby had been blinded by the need to do so much better, she’d completely missed the one thing that actually mattered. She realised that he challenged her. And she challenged him. Both of them made each other want to do better and that’s why they’d been fighting the whole time. Of course Lucas didn’t hate her. He deliberately said and did things to rile her up so she would fight back and work to her full potential. Libby almost laughed at the fact that this had been going for three years and she was completely clueless throughout all of it. She was such an idiot. 

“If that’s what you truly think then why’d you try and steal my internship?” She narrowed her eyes but there was nothing malicious in her tone. Only a playful challenge. 

Lucas rolled his eyes. “I tanked the interview.” 

Libby’s mouth nearly fell open in shock at the casual admission. “You  _ what? _ ” 

“I deliberately messed it up after I saw you that day.” 

“But… why?” She could barely get her words out at this point and she was fairly sure she wasn’t breathing properly. She didn’t know what to make of anything and suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to cry again. 

Lucas shrugged like he didn’t know but it was all a lie. Of course he knew why he did it. “You deserved it.” He said simply. 

Libby continued to stare at him in complete shock. A moment passed by where she was just staring blankly. And then another. And then another. Lucas looked at her intrigued, unable to tell what she was thinking. 

“Lib? Are you o-” Lucas was cut off as, out of nowhere, Libby surged forward and connected her lips with his. Despite how shocked he was it took him no time at all to reciprocate, and he gently placed a hand on her waist to steady her while the other wound into her hair. Making a quick decision that the position they were in was too awkward, he slowly stood up from his chair, lips never leaving hers. Libby had to adjust to the height difference but refused to part from him. Instead, she reached up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders effectively deepening the kiss. Lucas smiled into it and she really could have cried in that moment. 

She felt everything and nothing at the same time. All of her concerns and worries and stresses from before drifted away into nothing and the only thing she could focus on was  _ him.  _ It was intoxicating and she never wanted it to end. She also never thought she would be here. It was so unexpected. She didn’t know what had come over her, but as soon her lips had crashed onto his it was like she knew this was always how it was going to end. It was like the spark that had always been between them, hidden within the depths of the snide remarks they always threw at each other, had ignited into a blazing fire. A fire that she truly hoped would never burn out. Libby couldn’t tell if it felt like forever or no time at all when she pulled away, but both of them were breathing heavily, foreheads resting against each other. 

Lucas broke the silence with a deep, dazed chuckle and Libby gave him a questioning look. “What?”

“Nothing. Sorry, I just never thought we’d get here.”

Libby sighed, but she couldn’t stop smiling. “Yeah, well you and me both.”

She returned to her chair and Lucas followed suit. Neither of them said anything, both still stunned by what had just happened but certainly not in a bad way. They fell into a comfortable silence that dragged on for a few minutes but Libby and Lucas were so lost in thought that time didn’t really occur to them.

Lucas suddenly turned to Libby. “What was it, by the way?”

“What was what?”

“The book you were looking for?”

Libby read it out from the list of materials she had abandoned on the table and Lucas grimaced slightly. He tried to make it subtle but she noticed. She always noticed. She watched him as he cautiously reached into his bag and pulled out a book, dropping to the table. Libby stared at it blankly. She wasn't even surprised.

“Always one step ahead.” She murmured with an almost fond smile. 

“Yeah, well I have to be. It’s the only way I can deal with you.”

Libby opened her mouth to fight back but Lucas' lips were on hers again, silencing whatever retort was about to come from her. As he pulled away, he watched as her eyelids fluttered open, as if she had fallen into the same daze that she was after the first kiss. His lips twitched in amusement.

“What now?”

“Just revelling in the fact that after three years, we’ve finally found an effective way to shut each other up.”

Libby shoved him playfully, trying to suppress a smile. She grabbed the book from the table, sliding it towards her. “Leave me alone, I don't have time for your shit.”

Lucas smirked. “Kind of seems like you do.” 

**********

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to Audrey (ThoracicOrchid4) for yelling at me to finish this when I kept getting distracted. And of course for helping me through it.


End file.
